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Operational services and products
International climate information exchange
OBJECTIVE
To meet the present and future needs of the general public and specialised users for reliable, responsive, climate data, information, monitoring, prediction and advisory services.
OUTPUT
A complete quality controlled archive of Australian and regional climate data in raw and processed form; along with the provision of raw and processed climate data and information in various formats and on various media; and routine Australian, southern hemisphere and global analyses of the monthly, annual and longer behaviour of climate, along with climate outlooks for seasons to years ahead.
OUTCOME
Enhanced community safety and well-being through the effective use of climate and related services by the general public and other major social and economic sectors.
The national requirement for high quality and timely climate data, information, analyses and predictions, has increased substantially over recent years as users have become more aware of the impact that such information can have on private and public sector decision making and the potential value that can accrue. Applications of climate data are many and diverse, ranging from structural design to agricultural risk management strategies through to formulation of government policy. Wide interest in the climate change issue has focussed attention on the need for long term, high quality, systematic climate monitoring systems, that will contribute both to an improved understanding of the complexities of the naturally varying climate system and to detection of any trends over time owing to either natural influences or human activities.
Climate Services encompass the provision of climatic data, information and advice to the general public and a wide range of specialist users. Long-term climatic data, obtained from both basic and special observation networks and stored in the National Meteorological Data Bank, are published in the form of climate summaries and atlases, and made available in both hard copy and computer-compatible form for use in research, design and applications to all walks of life. Climate Services also include the month-to-month and year-to-year monitoring of major climatic fluctuations such as drought and flood rains and, to the extent possible, the prediction of climatic anomalies likely to affect agriculture and other sectors of the economy.
The Bureau of Meteorology's Climate Services are coordinated by the National Climate Centre (NCC), located in the Bureau's Head Office, and are provided through the NCC, Regional Offices and Field Meteorological Offices around Australia.
Benefits to the community in the form of enhanced climate services continued to accrue this year from the Climate Upgrade Initiative which was funded originally through the 1995-96 Budget, then subsequently in response to the recommendations of the 1996 Slatyer Report on the Review of the Operation of the Bureau of Meteorology and most recently through the 1999-2000 Budget initiative on Providing World Class Weather Forecasting.
The resources committed to Climate Services during 2000-01 are summarised in Table 3 and given in more detail in Table 10.
Table 10. Climate Services Program expenses and revenue ($'000) and staff level for 2000-01 together with the actuals for1999-2000 and the 2000-01 Budget and Budget plus Additional Estimates appropriations.
ACTUAL EXPENSES 1999-2000 |
BUDGET 2000-01 |
BUDGET & ADD. EST. 2000-01 |
ACTUAL EXPENSES & REVENUE 2000-01 | |
($'000) |
($'000) |
($'000) |
($'000) | |
FINANCIAL |
||||
EXPENSES |
||||
Employee Expenses (Appropriation) |
7,419 |
7,444 |
7,407 |
7,493 |
Employee Expenses (Section 31) |
286 |
227 |
226 |
128 |
Supply of Goods and Services (Appropriation) |
896 |
682 |
866 |
1,435 |
Supply of Goods and Services (Section 31) |
447 |
489 |
643 |
445 |
Operating Leases Rentals |
1,026 |
1,030 |
1,026 |
1,202 |
Depreciation |
528 |
605 |
595 |
543 |
Other Goods and Services Expenses |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
(WMO Contribution) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Capital Use Charge |
-32 |
-13 |
-16 |
0* |
TOTAL PRICE OF OUTPUT |
10,570 |
10,464 |
10,747 |
11,246 |
REVENUE |
||||
Appropriation |
9,471 |
9,748 |
9,875 |
9,875 |
Sale of Goods and Services |
889 |
716 |
869 |
869 |
Miscellaneous - other |
3 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
TOTAL REVENUE |
10,363 |
10,464 |
10,747 |
10,747 |
STAFFING |
||||
Staff Years (actual) |
||||
- Funded from Employee Expenses (Appropriation) |
118.3 |
119.4 |
118.8 |
117.4 |
- Funded from Supplier Expenses (Appropriation) |
5.1 |
5.1 |
5.1 |
4.7 |
- Funded from Section 31 Receipts |
3.5 |
3.5 |
3.5 |
1.8 |
- Funded from Capitalised Salaries (Asset Replacement) |
0.3 |
0.8 |
0.8 |
0.9 |
TOTAL STAFFING |
127.2 |
128.8 |
128.2 |
124.8 |
* In 2000-01, Capital Use Charge was not accounted as an expense.
Performance during 2000-01 was assessed at two levels in terms of the:
· quality, quantity and price of the outputs directed to the achievement of the planned outcome relative to the agreed target levels; and
· contribution of the outputs to the achievement of the planned outcome.
The measures used as a basis for performance assessment were as published in the Portfolio Budget Statements 2000-01 for the Environment and Heritage Portfolio (Budget Related Paper No. 1.7). The performance for 2000-01 against each of the performance measures and targets for quality, quantity and price of outputs is summarised in Appendix 11.
The major strategies used to enhance the Bureau's climate services and contribute to the achievement of the planned outcome during 2000-01 were:
· to further increase the efficiency of data management through automation of data collection and development of an integrated quality monitoring system;
· to further develop standard interface routines required to make the Australian Data Archive for Meteorology (ADAM) significantly more effective;
· to improve the relevance of climate information through liaison with user groups and the conduct of user surveys, and enhance the effectiveness of climate services through promotion of their use;
· to ensure the range of climate monitoring and prediction products available through the World Wide Web and media outlets keeps pace with community need, including improvements to the seasonal climate outlook service; and
· to protect the integrity of the climate record, by working with National Archives of Australia to preserve historical climate-related manuscripts and material that has not yet been digitised.
The contribution to achievement of the planned outcome during 2000-01, assessed in terms of the indicators listed in Appendix 12, is reviewed below for each of the individual outputs (Archived Data, Climate Data Service and Climate Monitoring Service), drawing on the performance information summarised in Appendix 11.
Australian meteorological and related data are collected, monitored, quality controlled and stored in an appropriate and secure form, to meet the essential present and future national and international needs for climate data. The national climate archive is of central importance to the operations of the Bureau and provides the foundation for many of its research and service functions. Responsibility for the management of the national climate archive lies with the NCC, which provides the essential meteorological and technical expertise. The Bureau's Observations and Engineering Branch and its regional Climate and Consultative Services Sections provide support on data quality issues. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the use of external contract staff in areas such as records management, database management, systems development and data entry.
Most of the climate data are managed through an Oracle relational database known as the Australian Data Archive for Meteorology (ADAM). Other secondary databases are used for quality control and database development. While priority is given to managing the data necessary to satisfy the Basic Climate Service, systems are being developed to manage the growing volume of data becoming available from ancillary observation systems. As a result, the database will be able to serve a wider range of users and provide inputs for new climate products and services.
The main data types managed within ADAM are:
· daily and hourly surface climate data (e.g. temperature, rainfall totals, rainfall intensity, wind speed and direction, pressure, various visual observations);
· monthly statistics for surface climate;
· upper air data (e.g. temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, height of various pressure levels);
· ship and buoy observations; and
· international climate data.
The earliest records start in the mid-1800s.
Some data, such as details of tropical cyclones, are managed outside the relational database. Satellite and radar data are currently managed in other parts of the Bureau and some other datasets, such as those more specific to capital cities, are managed within Regional Offices.
As applications of climate data have increased and become more sophisticated, efforts to maintain rigorous standards and improve overall efficiency in data management have also increased. During 2000-01, particular attention was given to improving the operating efficiency of the computer infrastructure. The programmed replacement of the computing hardware infrastructure that holds the climate record commenced, with new computer servers expected to give at least a tenfold increase in performance. The data storage system will also be replaced by a Storage Area Network, which will help secure a high degree of database reliability and performance. A new PC based system was developed to digitise pluviograph (rainfall intensity) charts more efficiently and effectively. The new system provides more accurate output and its portability allows for a more flexible work program. An innovative pilot project was undertaken to enable the placement of a scanned image of a monthly rainfall record (with hand-written totals) alongside a computer data entry form.
The percentage of regular archive entries into the national climate database that were successfully completed within preset quality control standards exceeded the target of 95 per cent for the third consecutive year, as shown by Figure 43. This has been achieved despite the increase each year in the number of records being archived (Figure 44). For most types of climate data, increasing data volumes are being made available to the Australian and international communities and more data are undergoing quality control.
Figure 43. The percentage of regular archive entries into the national climate database that were successfully completed within preset quality control standards (target is 95 per cent, as indicated by the thin line).
Figure 44. The total number of hourly climate records entered into the database for each year since 1989-90.
The ADAM continued to be enhanced to provide greater opportunities for climate services and research by including longer data series, to support derivation of improved climatologies, and more varied data types, allowing the development of a broader range of services.
During 2000-01, activities to enhance ADAM included the:
· addition of daily rainfall totals from more than 800 Flood Warning stations;
· continued development of systems to manage half-hourly aviation reports; and
· commencement, in late 2000, of projects to manage one and ten minute data from AWSs and solar radiation from in-situ and satellite sources.
Excellent progress was achieved on the Climate Archives (CLIMARC) project, which aims to extend the database to cover earlier time periods, through computerising pre-1957 daily and hourly records from 50 locations around Australia by mid-2002. CLIMARC, which began in late 1998, was made possible through funding from the Bureau, various state government agencies and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Australia and Australia's rural R&D Corporations (under the Climate Variability in Agriculture R&D Program). The project was implemented within the Bureau but jointly managed with the Queensland Department of Primary Industries. After a steep learning curve, data entry rates have accelerated with 46 sites completed as at June. It is expected that all 50 sites will be entered into the database ahead of schedule. The quality control of records began in June and the methods employed will help ensure that data users can have confidence in the data added to ADAM. Preliminary investigations demonstrated that CLIMARC data reduced the error in interpolation of pre-1957 temperatures by between 25 per cent and 50 per cent.
The National Climate Centre assisted the Services Policy Branch with the establishment of a national severe storms database.
Quality of climate data has a direct impact on the quality of the ensuing climate products and services and, with increased and more diversified usage of climate data, demands for improved quality management have grown.
While most operational data quality control occurs within the NCC, quality monitoring activities also occur in other areas of the Bureau, particularly within the Observations and Engineering Branch and the National Meteorological and Oceanographic Centre. Liaison between the relevant areas, and also with the Regional Offices, continued to be a high priority. As a result of the increase in AWSs and electronic field books (EFBs), and a reduction in hard copy records to check against, some changes to the NCC's mode of operation were necessary.
During 2000-01, the NCC endeavoured to improve data quality through:
· extension of the quality control system for data from AWSs and EFBs to the historical data from the CLIMARC project;
· implementation of components of the RainQC system to quality control daily rainfall and, along with Observations and Engineering Branch, continuation of the development of a Quality Monitoring System to cover a broader set of variables. Both include graphical and statistical tools expected to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of quality monitoring activities;
· development, in conjunction with other areas of the Bureau, of plans for improved access to AWS data. Improved communication facilities and monitoring tools are expected to provide better real-time data collection rates; and
· hosting of the first Bureau Data Quality Workshop in March, involving "data stakeholders" from the Bureau Head and Regional Offices and several external agencies. A number of strategies for improving data quality were identified.
The Climate Data Quality Issues group addressed issues relevant to the integrity of the climate record. Many of these issues related to AWSs, such as data corruption due to electronic data spikes, software problems and the introduction of the new data format for reporting the increased range of variables through the EFBs . Most of these long outstanding issues are expected to be resolved with the latest version of ALMOS software to be released soon.
Metadata (information about data and how they are collected) are very important in the study of long-term climate, as they enable users to determine whether the observations have been made on a consistent basis through the period of record. The demand for metadata from the national and international scientific community, and from the Bureau's broader clientele, continued to increase, but, under present arrangements, most metadata exist only in manuscript form, making efficient access very difficult for users.
Significant steps were taken during 2000-01 towards making the Bureau's metadata more organised and accessible. A working group was established to determine a structure for the collection and electronic storage of the Bureau's historical metadata. This structure will build upon that already in place for the storage of current station-related metadata. It will make access to metadata more efficient, with less handling of paper files, and assist in the preservation of historical metadata that may otherwise be lost. A project was commenced to scan documents in station files as the first stage in making such information available to users in digital form. A contractor was engaged to compile historical observing instructions.
During 2000-01, the Bureau continued to contribute to efforts to improve the management of global climate data, both in fulfilment of its responsibilities to the WMO and in recognition of the importance of good quality global data to the effective monitoring and prediction of Australian climate. The NCC was a key participant in the WMO climate database management system (CDMS) project, which aims to identify candidate database systems that will satisfy the broad needs of WMO Member countries. Australia was among fourteen countries that submitted their national climate databases for testing as a prototype for the next generation CDMS. The NCC also developed a prototype version of ADAM to operate on a PC and incorporated part of the data entry and quality control system of ADAM to operate with international stations.
The NCC conducted a consultancy for Technology Park Malaysia (TPM) in early 2001 on the development of the Malaysian Meteorological Service (MMS) Climate Database, basing the design substantially on ADAM. This consultancy involved several exchange visits between staff within TPM and the NCC.
Substantial improvements were made to the reporting performance of the Bureau's Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Surface Network (GSN) stations, with the number of stations reporting monthly CLIMAT messages increasing by about 30 to 82, in-line with GCOS requirements. The improvements were instituted following receipt of routine performance reports from the GCOS Surface Network Monitoring Centres (GSNMCs). The Australian improvements had a major impact on the performance statistics generated by the GSNMCs for the stations in WMO Regional Association V (Figure 45). The NCC also participated in the first GCOS Regional Implementation Workshop in Samoa in August. This workshop was the first in a series aimed at helping developing countries meet their commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Figure 45. Statistics on the performance of GCOS Surface Network (GSN) Stations for each of the WMO Regions. (Data supplied by the GSN Monitoring Centres at Deutscher Wetterdienst and the Japan Meteorological Agency)
In compliance with a request from the WMO for the Marine Climatological Summaries Scheme (MCSS), a batch of marine data obtained from the real time ship reports was sent to the data collection centre in Germany. Aided by the fact that the first such data despatch included an 18-year backlog, the Australian contribution made up 25 per cent of the total world input to the MCSS database in 2000.
The Climate Data Service involves the supply of climate data and information to meet a wide range of individual and community needs. Standard summaries and analyses of climate data and extracts from the computer archive are the main products provided to assist in this function. Another important function of the Climate Data Service is the provision of advice about the data, including observing standards, the instrumentation used and the completeness of the data record. This advice is frequently important in helping users determine the most appropriate data to use for a particular purpose.
Regional Offices in each State and some Field Meteorological Offices continued to meet most of the routine or locally focussed requests for climate data, their task made more efficient through direct access to the national climate archive (ADAM). This arrangement delivered a national approach to serving climate data requirements and, together with access to a Regional Library in each Regional Office, ensured that comprehensive local expertise was available to the data users. Within the NCC in Melbourne, national standard products were developed using CD ROM technology, expertise was supplied for large and complex data requests and for technical matters relating to the extraction of data from the archive. Load-sharing and backup arrangements between the NCC and the Climate and Consultative Services (CCS) Sections in the Regional Offices were implemented as needed, helping to ensure efficiencies and fewer delays in busy periods. User feedback confirmed the general satisfaction with this approach to national service delivery.
During 2000-01, improved user access to climate data continued to be the main focus. Towards this end, the production of "packaged products" was expanded and improved. Consolidation of standard climate data sets on CD-ROM, production of standard map analyses, the automation of routine jobs and the continued development of The Climate Zone, an interactive web-based system, contributed to making climate data more readily accessible and its delivery more timely.
Electronic mail communications between clients and the various Bureau offices, concerning both requests for climate data and subsequent supply of data, continued to increase (Figure 46) and resulted in a more timely service. Requests handled over the phone declined in number. Figure 46 reflects only the email requests received through the web feedback pages; such requests form only part of the inward email traffic as many requests are sent directly to various staff email addresses. They do, however, give an indication both of the increasing use of email and of the interest displayed in the climate web pages.
Figure 46. The monthly numbers of incoming request emails to the Climate Service via the web feedback pages.
Figure 47 shows the total client contacts in recent years and how the access methods selected by clients have changed. As phone calls have decreased slightly, use of fax and email has increased. Letters and direct visits to Bureau offices (counters) have decreased markedly over the last few years as other methods of access have become more widely available within the community. The overall number of client contacts and requests continued to increase, while staff numbers have decreased over the same period.
Figure 47. The total numbers of client contacts and the different access methods since 1990-91.
The Internet continued to be a vital source of access to climate information for the community, with visits to the Bureau's climate Web pages continuing to rise and approaching the 1.5 million mark for the year. Up to a quarter of these came from outside Australia (Figure 48).
Figure 48. Numbers of overseas accesses to the Bureau's climate web pages.
The Climate Survey of Antarctica and Remote Islands was finalised and submitted for publication. Once published, this will complete the round-Australia series of surveys.
Progress continued during the year on the development of the interactive Web-based access system, The Climate Zone, capitalising further on the improved efficiency and effectiveness in both archival and retrieval of Australian meteorological data that has been possible since the creation of the ADAM database in 1994. A newly developed component of the system allows all climate staff more timely and easier access to pluviograph data.
The NCC collaborated with other areas of the Bureau on the initial development of a new Services Management System (SMS), which will become a focus for client management information. When completed, the SMS will serve the needs of all services managers across the Bureau and will support provision of improved performance information on all aspects of the service. This will ensure better reporting to Government, but will also result in an increased ability to plan for service and client requirements into the future.
The review and consolidation of Bureau scientific and other records held at National Archives Australia (NAA) continued, in response to NAA pressures to reduce their holdings of Bureau records, with the overall Bureau objective of ensuring that Australia's climate record is made permanently more secure and accessible. The material deposited by the Bureau includes original observation records, station history files, synoptic analyses and administrative files, much of which it is essential to retain. The process to ensure that only duplicate or non-essential records are disposed of will continue to require major commitment of financial and staff resources. By June, Bureau holdings in all NAA facilities were reduced by approximately 4.4km of shelf space or around 31 per cent of Bureau holdings with NAA. These reductions occurred in Adelaide, the Northern Territory, the ACT and the Burwood NAA facility in Melbourne. In addition, a considerable amount of preliminary work was done on the holdings in other States. As shown in Table 11, the holdings in Queensland will be tackled in the next financial year (2001-02) and will require most of the year to complete.
Table 11. Timetable for review and disposal of Bureau of Meteorology records
The Climate Monitoring Service provides a range of timely climate monitoring and prediction information and products in a variety of formats. Routine publications include the Monthly Rainfall Review, Monthly Drought Review, the Seasonal Climate Outlook, Annual Climate Summary and the Climate Monitoring Bulletin (CMB). All production deadlines were met during the year. In accordance with an agreement with the National Climate Data Center (NCDC) in North Carolina USA, those sections of the CMB relating to Australian conditions (summary, rainfall and rainfall deficiency) were routinely sent to NCDC from July for inclusion in its monthly global climate summaries.
Other routine monitoring products include seasonal summaries (summer, autumn, winter, spring), focusing on the Australasian region, for publication in the Australian Meteorological Magazine. Climate and Consultancy Services sections in each capital city continued the regular production of their Monthly Weather Reviews and the Darwin office maintained the production of the Tropical Diagnostic Statement and Weekly Tropical Climate Note. The Darwin office also supplied biannual Tropical Circulation Summaries to the Australian Meteorological Magazine.
To ensure timely and efficient service delivery, most products are made available immediately on the Bureau's web site. The enhancement and development of operational climate monitoring during the year was focused around these Web-based products, with priority given more to improving presentation and accessibility than to increasing content. One significant addition was that of interannual rainfall comparisons, which quantify the rainfall differences between similar periods in different years (Figure 49), information that users can relate to changes in their business activity.
Figure 49. An interannual rainfall comparison between June 2001 and June 2000, showing that June 2001 was much wetter in parts of central and SE Australia but very much drier in SW Western Australia.
Other new web products included updated rainfall decile maps to enable routine ongoing assessment of the progress of the northern and southern wet seasons. Improvements to navigation for the web-based rainfall maps also helped users make optimum use of the services.
In fulfilment of government environmental reporting requirements, the NCC participated in preparation of the Second National State of the Environment (Atmosphere) Report, contributing analyses of atmospheric indicators such as the Southern Oscillation Index, mean and extreme rainfall, mean and extreme temperatures, occurrence of tropical cyclones, temperatures of the upper atmosphere and ozone levels.
The climate prediction service, especially the rainfall outlook component, continued to be widely used by both the public and business sectors, especially primary industry users, for planning and risk management. For the third summer in succession, the climate of northern Australia was dominated by atmospheric patterns typical of La Niña. NCC officers responded to routine media interest, including through several regular interviews with various Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) programs and a weekly talk with television channel Weather 21. General enquiries increased, and were well serviced, towards the end of the financial year when there was speculation on the development of an El Niño event.
The newly implemented system for temperature outlooks, which was developed in response to persistent user demand, completed its first year of service. Outlook provision went smoothly with verification showing higher skill for the maximum temperature outlooks than those for minimum temperatures, particularly in eastern and southern Australia. The summer outlook issued in November, for example (Figure 50), showed very high chances of above average maximum temperatures in the southeast. This provided accurate and timely warning to users since Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales subsequently had one of their hottest summers on record.
Figure 50. The maximum temperature outlook for summer (December 2000 to February 2001), issued by the NCC in November.
The Bureau's Perth office continued its service to Western Australian agricultural and water agencies with the issue around March of a statement regarding the prospects for rainfall in the southwest of Western Australia over the May to October period. A preliminary statement was issued to the water agencies the previous October, to assist in water management decisions over the summer months.
In order to better inform users as to the accuracy of Seasonal Climate Outlooks, the NCC collaborated with the Climate Variability in Agriculture Research and Development Program (CVAP)1 to develop a method of communicating this information to users via a Web page. Using the Web page, users can make a detailed analysis of the potential value of the Seasonal Outlook for their region, including information on the past outlooks for that location, and whether the outlook was consistent.
High quality data are essential to providing accurate and timely services to the full spectrum of users of the Bureau's climate services. The Reference Climate Station (RCS) network is Australia's premier observation network for detecting long-term climate trends and is important for monitoring climate change and providing data to generate future scenarios. Resources were directed during 2000-01 to help maintain these stations to the high standards required. The continued installation of automatic weather stations and electronic field books throughout the network helped secure the future of these valuable climate records and provided access to more timely and frequent data.
Sixty-five RCSs have been identified as part of the GCOS (Global Climate Observing System) Surface Network (GSN) (see Figure 51), which was designed to identify global patterns of climate change. Work on gathering historical station information from Australian GSN stations for inclusion in a database of GSN metadata was almost completed. This constitutes a major southern hemisphere contribution to international global climate monitoring.
Figure 51. The Australian Reference Climate Station (RCS) network, excluding the Antarctic and island stations. Sixty-five of the RCS stations are also part of the GCOS Surface Network.
Progress was achieved in the characterisation and understanding of Australian climate processes through a one-year study into factors influencing rainfall variability during El Niño events, partly supported by CVAP. The project investigated the factors that cause rainfall in some El Niño events to deviate from the usual pattern of generally below average rainfall and aimed to determine whether these differences could be predicted in advance. The study was motivated by the strong El Niño event of 1997, in which timely rains greatly reduced agricultural losses. Some aspects of the study were extended to La Niña events. "Abnormal" events showed distinct differences from normal ones in the behaviour of sea surface temperatures and some aspects of atmospheric circulation patterns, often apparent by late autumn-early winter.
Changes in climate extremes can have a greater potential environmental and socio-economic impact than changes in mean climate variables. A collaborative research project between the Bureau, CSIRO Atmospheric Research and the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) resulted in an important assessment of the rainfall and temperature extremes throughout the region (Figure 52). A more detailed study of temperature extremes across Australia was also produced by the NCC and was a significant Australian contribution to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Figure 52. The mean number per year of `hot' days (daily maximum temperatures greater than 35°C) and `cold' nights (daily minimum temperature lower than 5°C) across Australia.
Mapping and surveys
There is a high level of community demand for climate maps for use in a wide variety of applications. The NCC continued its program to generate new reference climate maps and other climate-related maps as requested by the user community. A new set of average monthly and annual rainfall maps, known as the Climatic Atlas of Australia - Rainfall, was released (Figure 53). This represents the first published revision of these maps since 1975 and is now available in digital format to comply with user requirements. Good progress was made on the preparation of a similar Temperature Atlas.
Figure 53. Sample rainfall map from `Climatic Atlas of Australia - Rainfall'.
In a joint project with the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Catchment Hydrology, the Bureau completed the Climatic Atlas for Australia - Evapotranspiration. The atlas contains 39 high-quality colour maps of monthly and annual areal actual, areal potential and point potential evapotranspiration. In addition, the gridded data used to generate the maps were made available in GIS format for research and related water modelling studies.
Maps of various other climate parameters continued to be made available to the community in electronic formats, including as Geographic Information System (GIS) layers and via the Bureau's web site, and in some cases, as printed posters. These maps include sunshine hours (monthly and annual), thunderdays, and 9am and 3pm relative humidity. The sunshine-hour information for selected sites throughout Australia was also made accessible through an interactive web page. Work commenced on maps displaying other parameters, including rain-days and frost frequency, and they are expected to be available in the second half of 2001.
The demand for specialised climate mapping products, on a user-pays basis, increased by 40 per cent over the past 12 months. This user-pays service uses the facilities of NCC and the climate data base to good effect while at the same time ensuring that users have access to exactly the products they require. Basic and quality-enhanced maps and gridded data were provided, in both electronic and printed formats. Users of this service included students and the general public, researchers, agribusiness and consultant companies, and local, state and federal government organisations. The products provided included mean number of days over 30ºC in the November-March period over Victoria (for Agriculture Victoria), thunderday data in several formats for National Power Coordination (Brisbane) and a specially-prepared map of plant hardiness, derived from climate data, for a new vegetation/plant book.
Communicating climate information
A focus of efforts to draw attention to the Bureau's climate services and to assist in identifying new service requirements, was the Cli-Manage conference which was held in Albury from 23-25 October. The aim of the conference, which benefited from funding assistance from CVAP, was to improve the ability of those in the agricultural, water resources and other climate-dependent sectors to make better informed decisions about activities influenced by climate variability. One hundred and forty participants took part in Cli-Manage. Key outcomes included:
· improved communication between climate service providers and users, with providers more aware of user needs and users better informed about the importance of climate information and about the range of related information available to assist them; and
· a detailed "request list" of suggestions and ideas to improve the uptake and prudent use of climate services by the rural sector and industry.
Conference proceedings were produced in hard copy and placed on the Bureau web site, at http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/cli2000/proceedings.html, to assist in wider dissemination.
A Climate Outlook Forum was also held at the Bureau's Head Office in May with a small, focused group of users to gather feedback on the climate outlook services provided and to seek input on the information required and the decisions taken using that information, as well as on future requirements and developments.
To enhance user understanding and accessibility of services, further funding was granted by CVAP to better tailor information from the successful SILO web site (www.bom.gov.au/silo) to users' locations and reflect users' preferences for presentation. `SILO2' aims to better integrate weather and climate information. A survey of users indicated that they were generally happy with the site. Most (70 per cent) expressed particular interest in short-term information and the area indicated as requiring the most improvement was `Seasonal Outlook Skill'. Updates to the new SILO web site will be completed in 2001.
Other activities, in all States and Territories, included Bureau attendance and displays at major agricultural shows and at National Science Week, to promote climate services and strengthen user liaison. The Bureau stand won the third best community/non-profit display at the Royal Canberra show in March. Queensland Regional Office staff made presentations at 25 'Managing for Climate' workshops, organised by the Queensland Centre for Climate Applications (QCCA). Talks at conferences, schools and to target user groups and contributions to specialist (eg. Beef Improvement News) and scientific publications were an effective means of furthering public education and liaison. Follow up to web site feedback and interaction through the media were maintained. Visits to the NCC and Regional Offices, particularly by intensive users of climate data, such as state agriculture departments, provided useful opportunities to share expertise and experiences.
During 2000-01, the NCC fulfilled a key commitment to contribute Australian expertise and support to improve the quality and performance of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) in the South Pacific. In response to a request from the meetings of Directors of South Pacific NMHSs, NCC began production of the South Pacific Seasonal Outlook Reference Material in May. This monthly bulletin provides detailed information on the current state, as well as longer-range forecasts, of El Niño - Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions, with an emphasis on possible impacts upon the South Pacific region. Information is provided via a collation of world wide web links to original data sources and brief summaries and is circulated to an e-mail list and presented as a tool to assist South Pacific NMHS in their local climate decision making processes. South Pacific nations have provided input to and feedback on the material and have expressed general satisfaction with the product.
A number of international meetings during the year drew attention to the need for improved climate monitoring over the Indian Ocean and other southern ocean areas in order to upgrade the quality of climate monitoring and analysis over the Australian continent. These included the Workshop on Sustained Observations of Climate in the Indian Ocean, the CLIVAR Southern Ocean Observations Workshop and a meeting of the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) Array implementation panel, all held in November in Perth.
1 Funded by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry - Australia through the Climate Variability in Agriculture Research and Development Program (CVAP) administered by the Land and Water Resources Research and Development Corporation.
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